by Gary Hoover
Artimus smiled, stood and took both of Codi’s hands as she got to her feet. He hugged her and kissed her gently on the cheek. “Are you headed home?” he asked as he stepped back.
“I don’t know. What are you going to do?”
“Oh... I... uh… ” Artimus scratched the back of his neck. He smiled awkwardly but didn’t say anything more.
“What?” Codi asked with clear curiosity.
“It’s just... I... I’ve got to go check on something.”
“Can I come with you?”
“Oh... I guess... as long as you promise not to tease me about it.”
“Why would I tease you about it?”
“Okay, come on.” Artimus gestured and began walking. As they went, he pulled the Shaw’s receipt out of his pocket and briefly showed it to her. “I just want to see what this receipt is for.”
“What? Why?” She took the receipt from him and looked at it, turning it over to check both sides. “There’s nothing. Wait a minute... this date.”
She stopped and watched Artimus’ face flush.
“Yes, it was just before she–” He took the receipt from her and put it in his pocket as the two of them continued walking.
“So what do you think it’s for?”
“I have no idea,” Artimus said with a shrug. “I found it in her sock drawer, but–”
“But what?”
“There’s more to it. I felt... I... I felt like I was led to it.”
“Led?”
“Like something was... pushing... pushing me to find it.” Artimus shook his head as he tried to read Codi’s expression.
She looked back, but her face didn’t reveal much. After a few moments she said: “Well let’s go check it out.”
Chapter 42:
Shaw’s had a unique aroma, but an aroma that was always shifting. Spices mixed with fruits, cheeses, and meats. It was a family-owned business, and the Shaws loved what they did. Artimus stood in the doorway a few moments and just breathed deeply.
He hadn’t been there since Nafeesa’s death. The two of them used to enjoy browsing and losing themselves in all the wonder. He was glad now that Codi had come with him. Part of the reason he had not gone back was it always seemed a place that needed to be shared to be properly enjoyed.
He picked up and examined various jars, bottles, and boxes as he walked slowly through the store.
Then he stopped suddenly, and his jaw fell open.
“What?” Codi asked.
Artimus held out the jar for her to see for herself.
“Wulferger penises?” she asked with a look of amused wonder.
Artimus laughed. “I have to say that’s something I’ve never tried and never would have thought to try.”
“They seem to be in some kind of jellied sauce,” Codi said as she shook the jar with an expression that combined surprise, curiosity and disgust.
The two of them laughed but tried to hold back, not wanting to draw attention or have to explain what they found so funny.
She handed it back to Artimus, and he gave it a couple shakes, watching the contents continue to wiggle even after he stopped shaking.
“Hey, look at this one,” Artimus said, pointing at the jar.
Codi moved closer to see the one he was indicating.
“That poor guy must have had some uncomfortable moments in the Wulferger locker room.”
Codi slapped him lightly on the shoulder and took the jar from him.
He pulled the receipt from his pocket as they approached the service counter.
“Hey aren’t you–” the teenage counter worker asked as they approached.
“Yes, that’s me,” Artimus said with a forced smile. “I was wondering if you could help me with this receipt.” He placed the receipt on the counter and then turned it around so it was oriented properly for the teenager to read. “Can you tell me what this is?”
The young man looked at the receipt and then started typing into his computer, looking from one to the other as he typed. “Hmmmm. Looks like... ” He ran his finger across his screen. “Hmmmm... ” He looked at Artimus and seemed a bit distressed. “Ummmmm. I–” He typed a few more keys and seemed very focused on the screen. He looked at Artimus and forced a smile. “I think I better... I should probably check with my manager,” he said as he gestured toward the back of the store.
As he started to walk away, Artimus put a finger on the screen and discretely began to rotate it so he could read it. Before he could get it around far enough to see anything, the young man returned as if he had just remembered something.
Artimus withdrew his hand quickly and tried to look casual as the young man typed a few keys. Artimus noticed, with some disappointment, that the glow of the screen that had been lighting the man’s face went dark.
The young man turned and walked away again as Artimus looked pointedly at Codi. “What do you think that was about?”
Codi shrugged. “Seems like he’s uncomfortable about something.”
“What could it mean? A cryptic receipt from just before Nafeesa died? And they don’t seem to want us to know what it’s about,” Artimus whispered.
Codi shrugged again. “Do you think an exotic food store had something to do with Nafeesa’s death?”
Artimus studied her face. His expression went from serious to more quizzical. “Am I crazy?”
Codi patted his arm gently. “Let’s not make ANY assumptions... yet.”
“But it is strange, right?”
“Let’s see what they have to say and then go from there.”
Artimus leaned over the counter to see if he could see anyone. “Are they still here? Did they run out the back? Wait a minute... ” Artimus stepped back to a more casual stance as he saw the young man returning with an older, bearded gentleman.
The older man extended his hand. “Mister... ” He looked uncomfortably at his younger companion who shrugged awkwardly.
“Winfred,” Artimus said as he shook the man’s hand.
“Bishop? I’m terribly sorry, I didn’t recognize you.” He pulled his glasses off and looked at them angrily then turned back to Artimus and smiled. “Let’s see if we can straighten this out, shall we?” He took the receipt from the young man, put his glasses back on, and began tapping at computer keys.
After quite a bit of typing, he paused, looked at Artimus, and then back to the screen.
“I’m terribly sorry Bishop… ”
Artimus nearly asked, ‘Sorry about what?’ but held himself. He wanted them to do the talking. No point in tipping my hand one way or the other.
The man looked over his glasses at Artimus. Artimus felt that the older man wanted him to say something, but he didn’t comply. He just looked the man directly in the eye.
The man refocused his attention on his screen. “Your birthday package... ”
Birthday package?
“I’m afraid it’s no longer available. We did have it here, available for pick-up and I’m sure that we would have held it for some time after the scheduled date.”
My birthday was a week and a half after Nafeesa died.
The man stared intently at his screen. “I don’t have any record of what might have happened to it.” He pushed the screen aside and looked directly at Artimus. “Look, I’m sorry, but it was a special, custom order, and while you did pay for it, we no longer have it and can’t say where it is. Since it was personalized, we wouldn’t have been able to sell it to anybody else, so while I can’t say what happened to it, we wouldn’t have profited from it... ” He paused and waited for Artimus’ response.
Artimus was silent.
What could all this mean? Is there something going on here, or am I just letting my imagination get the best of me? All evidence seems to point to the latter.
“I realize it doesn’t come close to covering the actual cost, but I could offer you a 50-MMU store credit.”
Artimus was lost in thought. He stared at a water-stain on the wall. “Huh?... oh,
that’s not necessary. It’s not your fault.”
He turned and looked meekly at Codi. She reached over and gently stroked his arm.
“Can I help you with anything else today?” the man asked.
Codi lifted a jar she had been holding at her side and placed it loudly on the counter. “How much for the wulferger penises?”
Chapter 43:
Jeff leaned against the vehicle and eyed the small village warily.
“What do you think of these... felears?” he asked Baldwin as he traced little circles in the dirt with the toe of his shoe.
“They give me the creeps.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Jeff said as he looked up at the odd assortment of shacks, huts, and tree-dwellings. There were odd haunting, ‘whooping’ and ‘hooting’ sounds drifting randomly toward them, seemingly from all directions. Jeff wasn’t sure if they were coming from the forest or the dwellings or both. “It’s weird that, with all of the huge, nasty, violent creatures that are around here, these little cat-things make the hair on the back of my neck stand up so much.”
Baldwin nodded.
Dave and Nahima had headed into the village to look for tools and supplies. Rasp and Benji were asleep in Princess Trina.
“I really wish we could contact your father. I’m curious how things are going for him,” Jeff said.
Baldwin was studying his hand. “Huh?” He looked up at Jeff and took a few moments to rewind his words in his mind to determine what he had said. “Oh... yeah. I miss him.” Baldwin looked off thoughtfully. “He seemed sort of irrational about people knowing where we were.”
“Just trying to protect his son... The Raja.” Jeff said it with a grin, but Baldwin scowled as he looked off toward the village. Then his expression lightened, and he allowed a small smile. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, hopefully he’s got too much on his mind to worry about that silly stuff. Do you think Dave and Nahima will find what we need?”
“You’re The Raja. What do you think?”
Jeff was startled by the feel of something tugging at his belt. He looked and realized two felears had approached so silently that he hadn’t noticed them. One of them was tugging on the baseball bat hanging from his belt.
“How much?” the felear asked in a sharp, harsh voice.
“How much? Uhhh, it’s not for sale.” Jeff put his hand on the bat to prevent the felear, who was making an annoyed huffing sound, from removing it. Jeff felt the restraining strap on his gun unsnap, and he quickly put his free hand on the gun to keep the other felear from removing that.
“How much? How much?” the gun-grabbing felear asked insistently.
“It’s not for sale,” Jeff said. The volume of his voice rose, as he found it difficult to mask his frustration and growing anger.
The two felears were very close to him, breathing and huffing in his face. He didn’t want to start a fight or incident, but he wasn’t comfortable with them hovering so close to him. His mind was racing for a way to get them to back off without elevating the situation.
“You Doclotnurian?” the felear to his left asked, while still tugging at his bat.
“No.”
“I give you five MMUs for club.”
“No!”
“Don’t get rude!” the felear shouted harshly.
“Hey!” Baldwin shouted and started moving quickly away from Jeff and the felears.
Jeff looked in the direction he was headed and saw a couple of felears disappear into Princess Trina.
“Oooh, you got good stuff in there?” one of the felears near Jeff asked as he and his companion suddenly lost interest in him and ran toward Baldwin and the door to the vehicle.
Jeff stood for a moment, unsure what to do. He looked toward the village, hoping to see Dave and Nahima on their way back, but all he saw was a curious group of felears, who seemed to be considering coming to join in the fun.
Jeff drew his gun, not sure if he would actually shoot anything, but he felt he might need some muscle. He paused for another moment then started toward the door at a run.
As he skidded to a halt at the entrance ramp, he was nearly knocked over by four felears running back out in a panic. Almost simultaneously, Jeff heard a loud roar and the next thing he knew, Benji was standing in the open door howling furiously and shaking his arms in a terrifying display.
Jeff looked toward the village and saw the group that had been gathering now scattering in all directions.
Cool.
Chapter 44:
“I’m sorry, Bishop,” the guard said as Artimus walked through the scanner.
“I understand. Just doing your job,” Artimus said without being able to fully mask his anger at being forced to endure such an indignity. He glared in the direction of Duanan’s office door, which was flanked by two more guards. The door opened, and Artimus face softened dramatically as Codi exited and smiled at him.
Artimus still saw her during off-work hours, but now that she was working for Duanan, he missed seeing her during work hours. Codi was accompanied by Roho. Roho’s expression was dramatically less warm.
“Artimus!” Duanan said with a broad smile from within the office. “Come in! Come in!”
Artimus walked slowly toward the office. His enthusiasm didn’t come close to matching Duanan’s.
“Please, have a seat,” Duanan said, gesturing as he closed the door behind Artimus.
Duanan pulled a chair next to Artimus rather than taking his traditional seat behind the desk. He sat down and turned so his body was nearly square with Artimus. “I’m so glad you were able to come. I can’t help feeling that there’s a... distance growing between us, and I don’t want to let that go too far. I feel like you’re changing.”
I’m changing?
“Is everything okay with you?”
Artimus raised his eyes and looked at Duanan. He wasn’t sure where to even start.
“Why’s the security getting even tighter?”
Duanan waved dismissively. “I’m a bit embarrassed. Roho thinks things need to be more secure.”
“Is it because of the reports from Doclotnury of new pheerion activities?” Artimus asked.
Duanan’s face dropped slightly. “Have you been talking to anyone from Doclotnury?” he asked. The tone of his voice indicated that he meant it to be a playful ‘tsking’ rather than a more serious accusation.
Artimus shook his head. He found it easier to lie when he didn’t actually verbalize it. “There have been several public media reports from Doclotnury… ”
Duanan rolled his eyes. “Don’t believe everything you hear in the media. Besides, even if those savages are up to something – and I wouldn’t put it past them – they’re no match for the Doclotnurians. Why, you of all people should know how well the Doclotnurians can fight.” He smiled.
“I just think we should be prepared–”
Duanan put his hand on Artimus’ arm. “Artimus, of course I understand your concerns. But there’s a difference between rational concern and preparedness, and paranoia and fear.”
Artimus could feel his anger rising at Duanan’s condescending tone.
“You’ve got some... colorful people out there who seem to be fearful of all manner of things. But I know you’re too rational to get caught up with any fringe groups.”
He squeezed Artimus’ arm. “Look, if you’re concerned, I’ll look into things. Maybe make some contact with Doclotnury. You and I go way back. I’d hate to do anything to jeopardize our friendship.
Chapter 45:
“You sure you don’t want to help Dave?” Jeff asked. He had to raise his voice slightly to be heard above the pounding sounds that were reverberating through the cabin.
Nahima laughed. “Let Baldwin deal with him. I can stand Dave, sometimes, but I have a feeling he’s way more annoying than usual when he’s trying to fix something.”
“You feel confident you were able to get everything we needed?”
Nahima nodded. “Yeah, I think we’re set.
I tell you though... those felears. I hate to say it, because I don’t want to sound intolerant of other cultures.” She lowered her voice and leaned a little closer. “But they’re complete pains in the back-end. They just seem to push, push, push everything. This one guy... ” She smiled at the thought. “Wanted fifteen hundred MMUs for a power cable. Guess what he eventually sold it for?”
Jeff shrugged. “One thousand?”
“Eighty!”
Jeff jumped back at the forcefulness of her exclamation.
“Eighty MMUs for something he originally wanted fifteen hundred. Can you imagine?” she continued.
Jeff shook his head and smiled. “Were you able to hook the batteries up to recharge?”
Nahima nodded. “Should be pretty well charged by now. I don’t expect it will take Dave much longer, and then we’ll be back on our way. We should be seeing The Prophet soon.”
Jeff cringed slightly, and Nahima caught his apprehension. “What? That’s what we’ve been working toward all this time, right?”
Jeff nodded. “I know, I know. I’m just getting a little nervous. It’s just, well, for one thing, I’m afraid we won’t find her. Or we’ll find her and she won’t be any help. If we can’t get any hints I won’t know what to try next. And–”
“And?” Nahima raised her eyebrows.
“Oh, this part’s just silly.”
Nahima gestured. “Let’s go. Out with it.”
“It’s just... I’ve been having these dreams, and The Prophet keeps shouting about The Enigma.”
Nahima nodded. “Prophecy 12: The Enigma will baffle all but The Raja… ”
“To him, it will be a child’s game,” Jeff finished for her. “Problem is, no matter what your father may think, I am NOT The Raja.” Jeff’s face twisted as if he had just bitten into something sour. The whole concept of ‘The Raja’ had caused more trouble than anything. It had gotten him thrown in jail even though Jeff hadn’t made the claim himself.
“What’s the big deal?” Nahima asked. “Either you are ‘The Raja’ and you’ll be able to figure this all out–”